(April 13, 2010) Saskatoon – Saskatoon Health Region is proud to be named nationally among the top 35 Best Employers for New Canadians by Mediacorp Canada Inc., a Toronto-based publishing firm. The announcement was made April 8 in the Globe and Mail and was accompanied by a feature story on the Region’s successful and ethical recruitment trip to the Philippines in 2008.
The Region’s recruitment trip – which included nurse managers, Ministry of Health representatives and Saskatoon Health Region People Strategies employees - helped 100 internationally educated nurses gain employment and relocate to urban and rural facilities in the Region to provide care and service to clients in their new communities.
"I really feel like we were recruited not as employees, not just for our skills, but to be part of the family,” says Ray Magsuci, a registered nurse at Royal University Hospital. “We were really taken care of from day one . . . right from the interview process, through the immigration process, to adapting to Canadian culture. We were given opportunities and trusted to do the work"
“Saskatoon Health Region put a team of people around our new Canadian nurses to help them relocate and settle, and to provide the resources needed to successfully gain Canadian credentials,” says Bonnie Blakley, vice-president of People Strategies for Saskatoon Health Region. “Ninety-eight per cent of the nurses passed the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination once they arrived here and they’re now committed to providing high-quality care to clients and patients in our province.”
Mediacorp Canada Inc. selected the Best Employers for New Canadians based on five main criteria. The employer:
- offers programs designed to assist employees who are recent immigrants to Canada;
- has reduced employment barriers for recent immigrants;
- assists new employees with foreign professional or educational credentials in getting their qualifications recognized in Canada;
- offers programs such as internal coaching or mentoring to help employees who are recent immigrants understand the Canadian workplace; and
- provides managers and employees training in cross-cultural issues or inclusiveness, to help create a welcoming and productive environment for employees who are recent immigrants.
Saskatoon Health Region prepared ethical guidelines for the recruitment trip based on the Region’s values of respect, compassion, stewardship, collaboration and excellence. The guidelines included a policy that limited the number of nurses hired from any hospital or facility in the Philippines to prevent disruption to their existing health-care system. After signing a memorandum of understanding with Saskatoon Health Region, the Filipino government adopted its ethical guidelines as a standard for all foreign recruitment initiatives.
“Saskatoon Health Region’s recruitment effort in the Philippines is only one part of our clear strategy to fill vacancies and provide people with exceptional care and service,” adds Blakley. “We also hire more than 80 per cent of Saskatoon nursing graduates, have programs to link local youth to health-care training and careers, and encourage former residents working elsewhere in Canada to return to Saskatchewan. The recruitment strategy has helped the Region fill most of its vacancies in the past two years.”
The Region is also pursuing a new four-year strategy to build a culturally competent workforce more representative of the communities it serves, including immigrant and Aboriginal populations.
For more information about Saskatoon Health Region’s achievement as one of the Best Employers for New Canadians, visit www.eluta.ca/new-canadians-at-saskatoon-health-region.
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For more information:
Linda Walker
Corporate and Public Affairs Adviser
Saskatoon Health Region
306-655-3328
Saskatoon Health Region
“Healthiest people, healthiest communities, exceptional service.”
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